-LRB- CNN -RRB- Ciudad Juarez , Mexico , was once known as the murder capital of the world . Back in 2010 , at the height of cartel violence , the city averaged 8.5 killings per day .

But five years later , local officials say the city is much safer , and plans are underway to lure foreign tourists and investors back to Juarez . This month the city launched the tourism campaign `` Juarez is Waiting for You . ''

The rebranding effort started quietly a year ago , and on April 10 , it was on full display . Mayor Enrique Serrano officially kicked off the campaign , giving what he called an `` unprecedented '' high-profile tour to regional leaders from the United States and Mexico .

U.S. Rep. Robert `` Beto '' O'Rourke of Texas was one of those on a leg of the Juarez tour . His congressional district includes El Paso , Texas , which sits directly across the Rio Grande . O'Rourke says there 's good reason for locals to be hopeful .

`` As a region , El Paso and Juarez represent 20 % of all U.S-Mexico trade . The binational ties are strong and have remained strong , '' O'Rourke says . `` Yes , we had a really difficult time for a ... period . Juarez was at one time the deadliest city in the world . ''

O'Rourke speaks of a time between 2009 and 2012 when men , women and children were killed indiscriminately . Many were helplessly caught in the cartel violence . Others were victims of the drug turf war . It was n't that long ago , O'Rourke says , that he thought twice about crossing the bridge into Juarez .

'' -LRB- Now -RRB- I travel to Juarez regularly to have lunch or meet people or just to go . I always feel safe and secure . ''

A spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general 's office told CNN that at one point , there were days when Juarez had more than 20 killings .

`` That was normal , '' spokesman Julio Castaneda told CNN . `` It 's safer now . ''

The numbers from the attorney general 's office seem to bear that out . More than 3,000 people were killed in the city just four years ago , but so far this year there have been 89 killings , according to Castaneda -- a dramatic decrease in the violence .

`` Undoubtedly , the work we did here in the past year with the police institutions , and specifically the local police , helped . There was a coordinated effort between agencies , '' Castaneda said . `` Without a doubt this work played a part in breaking apart the gangs that were plaguing the city . ''

The government cleaned up corruption within the local police force , and fired or arrested a lot of bad cops who were helping the cartels .

Another factor that may have helped : The turf war between the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels essentially ended , with the Sinaloa cartel claiming victory in the battle for the trafficking route in Juarez .

O'Rourke argues that the El Paso-Juarez border is `` safer than it 's ever been . '' He cites the `` 30 million lawful crosses from El Paso into Juarez '' last year as a symbolic step .

Yet there are those who do n't want to celebrate too soon .

`` For Juarez to be considered a safe city , there 's a long way to go , '' says Sergio Meza , executive director for Plan Estrategico de Juarez , an independent organization that works to improve the city 's quality of life .

`` Just this past year -LRB- in 2014 -RRB- there were 424 homicides . In 2007 , there were 272 . Yes , we 're not as bad . But we 're still very sick , '' Meza told CNN from his office in Juarez . `` In reality , we 're progressing from the conditions that were generated by the insecurity . We 're still working out the corruption in the city . It 's still an issue here . ''

With more than 40 % of Juarez living below the poverty line , according to Plan Estrategico de Juarez , the future of the city will depend on `` the people 's participation in public matters . '' In fact , the organization 's slogan is `` Nothing is fixed alone . Participate . ''

`` We are looking at a compromised future , '' Meza said . `` We do n't talk about that . We do n't have the money to generate work here . ''

One bright spot : U.S. investment is making a comeback .

American companies Delphi , Honeywell , Flextronics and Lear are among those that ramped up hiring and investment in Juarez over the last year . That hiring would have been hard to imagine four years ago . But with the average salary at $ 20 per week for local workers in the maquiladores , or factories , along the U.S.-Mexico border in Juarez , Meza says more needs to be done .

The scars from the recent past remain . Several buildings downtown are shuttered and marred by graffiti . Americans who , before the violence , came to Juarez for bargain shopping have not returned in the numbers seen before the spike in violence . But in a sign of progress , the U.S. State Department amended its travel warning for the city . While it still urges visitors to exercise appropriate caution , it 's no longer telling people not to come .

Longtime residents of Juarez and neighboring El Paso may be reluctant to say the wounds of the violent past have altogether healed . In the last year , however , they have definitely noticed that `` life is back . ''

`` I measure it by the everyday coming and going of people , '' Gustavo Reveles , 39 , told CNN . `` For someone who grew up on the border and for someone who spent half of his life crossing the border on a weekly basis , it 's encouraging to be crossing back to Juarez without that sort of hesitation or worry that something might happen . ''

Reveles lived in Juarez until he was 15 and now lives in El Paso . He says the threat of violence is `` still a little bit concerning , '' though that has n't stopped him in recent weeks from going to Juarez to meet friends for dinner and drinks .

`` Things have changed , '' he said . `` To go through what Juarez went through , you see life there again . You see a semblance of what was there before . To really recover and heal wounds , there 's a long way to go , but the process has started and that 's a step in the right direction . ''

CNNMoney 's Octavio Blanco contributed to this report .

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Cartel violence helped make Juarez the murder capital of the world five years ago

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But the murder rate in the city has declined rapidly since 2010

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Now city leaders are working to bring visitors and foreign investment back to Juarez